Luca de Leva “Ultime Volontà” at ADA, Rome

NERO is pleased to announce Ultime Volontà, the first solo exhibition by Luca De Leva at ADA, Rome.

Questioned about the meaning of his work, De Leva replied: “for me, representing is performing in the name of the others”. In this direction, his approach brings with it a touch of self-denial. He refuses the paternity of the creative act through the use and manipulation of found objects, arguing that all he can do is reusing and preserving what already exists.

The objects on display were selected and bought by the artist according to an intuitive, immediate affinity, and are bound to be disengaged from their original existence to acquire a different identity. De Leva operates a synthesis that results in the annihilation of the bonds with our reality and in the desertion of the creative process, by working on existing objects to invest them of a new, distinct meaning. His is an invitation to a free and instinctive approach to the artwork. His is an invitation to a free and instinctive approach to the artworks.

In the middle of the room is an upturned anatomical leg, Saltellando tra i passi falsi, topped by a giant bronze ant. Further on the vertical plane, leaning on a corner, is an off-scale cane, Protesi su protesi, su protesi, su protesi etc. etc., obtained with the combination of different pieces of existing sticks converted into modules.

On the floor, on the opposite corner, a group of turtles made of concrete, Il buio, are lying upside down on their shells, and are suffocating with a balloon. Hanging on the walls are three drawings by David Meroni, a 25 years old autistic man, author of copies and reinterpretations of iconic Old Masters’ and Modern Art paintings, such as Mantegna’s, Picasso’s and Modigliani’s.

This is not the first time that Luca De Leva explores on the opportunities of a different perspective on the world – for example through the experience of a disease – nor it is the first time that he operates a “substitution” of personality within his own production.

In this direction, we can take as an example the performance Chronicles from another Eye,recently held at Castello di Rivoli, Turin, the performance ThySelfTalk at Museo di Villa Croce, Genoa, and the project Fiammetta dixit at Cura Basement, in Rome, inspired by his disabled sister.